Hi Roger,
I think I see what you're saying
The important thing is this: the centerlines of the trans output shaft and the pinion gear should be parallel.
They don't need to meet or cross.
This is OK:
___ --------
Note that the first line (representing the pinion) is lower than the second (representing the trans output), but that they are parallel.
This would
not be OK:
____ /
In this case the trans is pointing downward (way too much but can't find a gentle slope on the keyboard
) The opposite (pinion pointing down with trans horizontal) is also not recommended.
There's a little tolerance to this; the angles can deviate by a degree or so without hurting anything. If you have a live axle they'll change a little with load and car height anyway.
They don't need to be horizontal, either. If they each slope the same way and are parallel, it's fine (rotate your head in front of the screen if you don't believe me
). They can each slope up & to the right, for example, as long as they are still parallel.
You can measure these two angles with a protractor although you may have to be a little clever about how you do it. Like using vertical readings from the u-joint flanges instead of trying to find the horizontals
Have I added to the confusion?
Tom